


Going Solo

by Mandosaro



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-08 01:28:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6833269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mandosaro/pseuds/Mandosaro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Han and Leia learn of their son's actions, they both return to what they do best...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Going Solo

Han knew he was going to leave when he saw her stop crying. She didn't cry for a long time and didn't turn to face him for any reassurance or shared pity. When she had heard the news, it was like she had known already. She had stood from the chair, walked around the glass table with the vase of Ithorian roses and stepped out through the long, flowing curtains onto the marble balcony. Except for Chewie, Leia was probably the person he had spent most of his life with. He knew her well enough to not speak any further. He knew how she handled grief.  
Han knew he was going to leave when he saw her stop crying. As the night air stroked the curtain and parted it slightly, he could see her wipe away her sadness from her eyes and take a deep breath. She was the strongest person Han had ever met...ever loved. He didn't tell her enough that he loved her. As she came back into their home, Han felt a familiar tug at his heart. It was the call to run. It was the signal for him to leave this life and start a new one. He had never dealt well with a person's raw emotion and he knew that wasn't about to change any time soon. Leia's voice snapped his mind back into the room.

"What was the last we heard from Luke?"

"I...I don't know. When the pilots landed...he had already gone. They found R2 and...and they found the others."

"Do they know he did it?"

Han was keeping his gaze firmly on his boots but her voice broke, just slightly as she asked the question. Han found himself looking right into her eyes.

"They said that...the bodies were killed by a lightsaber."

"That doesn't mean anything. It could be a Sith...it could have been one of the other pupils. It could have been Jacen! He started at the same time as Ben! He never quite fit in with the others...he was always trying to talk Ben into doing things he didn't want to do. A bad influence. I told Luke dozens of times that he was a bad..."

"Leia..."

Han raised his arm and stretched his hand towards her arm.

"There's recordings. They show him...killing kids."

As Han touched her, Leia recoiled as if he had burnt her. Her face was contorted in a snarl and her fists clenched tight with white knuckles.

"NO!"

The glass table flipped onto it's side and sent the vase flying across the room before smashing into the ground. The table suffered a similar fate as it broke, sending glass shards scattering across the floor. The Ithorian roses sat in a puddle of water which was slowly running across the cold stone floor. Leia had chosen not to wield a lightsaber. Because of this, Han often forgot she had a strong connection to the ancient power of the Jedi. Neither of them spoke for what seemed like an eternity. Han didn't need to be a force user to feel the fear, confusion, rage and sadness seeping out of Leia's every pore. Han slowly approached Leia and wrapped his arms around her. She rested her face against his white shirt. Han slowly ran his fingers through her brown hair as he started to cry. They had lost their entire world. Their child had been twisted into something else and taken from them. The chubby baby that had fallen to sleep in his arms whilst he read him stories of Kessel runs and cities in clouds. That toddler who had insisted on riding on Chewies back to get from Senator meeting to diplomatic conference. The kid that had helped Han tinker with the Falcon's hyperdrive and had learnt how to play pazaak from Uncle Lando. The boy Han had agreed to give to Luke when his abilities in the force had broken the windows one too many times to ignore. He was gone. In his place was...something else.

Han knew himself more than anyone else, maybe even Leia. Han knew that in fight or flight situations, his gut told him to run. Sure, there had been times where he'd gone against his gut. He'd been there at the destruction of the first Death Star for crying out loud! But this hurt more than seeing a floppy haired kid lose his faith in him and jump into an X-Wing to...shoot womp rats.

Han let Leia go and turned away. He opened his mouth to speak but found there was nothing he wanted to say. His heart yearned for a new sky. He wanted Leia and Chewie to be at his side...but not right now. Especially not Leia. Seeing her grief reminded him of his own. Han Solo had run away from family before now. Why bother changing the habit of a lifetime. Han walked away and reached the door. Pressing several buttons on the keypad, the large metallic door slid open to reveal the long corridor outside. Han hesitated.

"Please don't go."

Han glanced back to see her face. She hadn't moved. She was standing tall with only the faintest shine of tears on her face.

"We need to stay here. It's not over."

Han Solo turned away. It was over for him.

He had never felt more alone than he did when departed Hosnian Prime for the last time. The Falcon's groans as it left the planet's atmosphere didn't sooth him like they often did. Casting a glance to his side, it felt strange to not have his best friend sat beside him. It hadn't been right to leave Chewie behind but some flights have to be taken alone. Some trips were not to be shared. The radio crackled to life. There was too much static to hear what was being said. Han didn't need to hear the voice to know it was her. Reluctantly, his fingers raised the radio's microphone to his lips and with his free hand, he slowly turned a dial. The static faded away until her voice was the only thing he could hear.

"...out there? Han...please say something."

"I hear you."

Leia paused. Maybe she hadn't expected him to actually answer. Eventually she spoke.

"Be safe. The Republic needs Han Solo."

Han's heart finally broke as he spoke back into the radio.

"I love you."

The familiar blue haze descended around the Falcon as it prepared to jump to lightspeed. The static began to crackle back onto the radio as the connection faded. As the Falcon left Hosnian Prime, Leia's reply was whispered through the radio.

"I know."


End file.
